hello fellow vj'ers,

i hope everybody is having a nice holiday season even though we are all (well, most of us actually) waiting to be together with our love one soon. as i read through some of the timelines in the board, i noticed that some of our very lucky (and i mean VERY lucky) members (you know who you are) got their petitions approved faster than most here. i was just wondering how they did it and how did that happen. any input on this will be greatly appreciated. congrats to all of you. i know the "journey" is still not over until you actually have your SO sitting comfortably beside you. good luck to all of us. thank you for your attention. HAPPY NEW YEAR everybody!

I have no clue how this works. Back in March everybody so many people were approved so fast! especially at VSC...so did I ...but slower than others too...drove me nuts back then but I felt pretty lucky compared to other service centers...Honestly...this is so random..I think it might just be luck...or something

I think it's depending on the SO's country. I think Cuba is one of the fastest approval rate.

I thought ours went extremely fast, back in the day. Just didn't seem so fast when we were going through it.

Wow! All these beautiful wedding photos! *Jealous*

And as far as being fast.... I read the same things... seeing people who applied in May almost done with the entire process and we are still sitting at the NVC... I'd say ours is on "SLOW" mode, but I really do not think there is anything specific people are or are not doing to make theirs move faster than others, because if there was.... I'd do it!

hi kinzaza,

i understand that back in january thru may, it was faster then. but the cases that i saw was just filed in mid-september and early october. but i guess it's really just luck of the draw. thanks for your reply.

hi thaistyle,

i was thinking the same thing. could it really depend on the beneficiary's country? thanks for the reply.

Yes...I did check the timelines not long ago...VSC is just as slow as any others now. I do hope you'll get approved soon.
I ended up extending my NOA2 Life is a weird thing...and all that happens....happens for the best...

I think there are things you can do to cut corners. It's preached so much on here, I'm sure everyone already does it. Beyond that, it's the luck of the draw. Maybe some offices or embassies have more employees or something, a better system, more operating hours, whatever. But, in the end, there isn't much to do but sit and wait.

I think those who automatically jump on that call your senator or other elected official bandwagon, actually hurt others by slowing down the process.

And, in all fairness, our case did go a bit faster cause Andre was able to drop off some things at the embassy that you now have to have a scheduled appointment to do, and these appointments are sometimes impossible to get. There have been some rule changes in the last 2 years that have effected those in Jamaica after us, and not in the good way. I hate the thought of that.

I really feel for all of you still waiting. If there was anything I could do, I would. For now, I just hope and pray for speedy journeys for all of you.

Thanks so much for your picture comment. It's probably the best picture I've ever taken. I could not be happier about that. You are too sweet to say your kind words.

You are very welcome. Good luck to you and Happy New Year.

same here jenk.

It's called money...or being sponsored by a job most of the time...lol

How is that relative to early I-129f approvals????????

Money? There is no premium processing for extra money! And sponsored by a job for an I-129f??? I don't think so!

OP - Earlier in the year things were a lot quicker at both service centers, moreso at VSC. VSC used to service less states than they do now. In March (I think) USCIS announced fee increases that would take effect July 30, 2007. In conjunction with the fee increase they divided up the states more equally between CSC and VSC. In anticipation of the fee increase numerous people tried to beat the fee increase, and petitions that have processing deadlines sooner that the supposed 6 months for I-129 f were prioritized, causing a huge backlog with our petitions.

Regarding the quickie approvals in Sept. & Oct., those were the luck of the draw. VSC explained that for training purposes they pull petitions out of order for adjudication.

Also, as others have mentioned, Cuban beneficiaries are afforded excellerated processing, and expedited processing is also available for US military members who are facing deployment.

It's all luck of the draw - when you filed, where you filed, how many petitions were filed, and whether or not there were any major legislation changes around the time of filing.

It took us seven days to get approved when we filed the K-1 in 2005. This was pre-IMBRA, pre new fees, pre everything. That is how much of a difference there is and how important these factors are.

OMG!!